If you have watched any of the debates, you know that some important questions never get asked. And if the moderator does ask a challenging question, the candidate usually changes the subject. In a recent column, Kevin Williamson writes about The Question No Candidate Will Answer. In the next debate, he would like the moderator to say this:

“Given that a small number of federal expenditures — Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, national security, and interest on the debt — typically constitute about 80 percent of all federal spending, and given that we are not going to cut non-defense discretionary spending to zero, there is no mathematically plausible way to balance the budget without: 1) cutting spending on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and/or national security; and/or 2) raising taxes. So, what’s it going to be: spending cuts in popular programs, higher taxes, or deficits forever? And before you give your answer, I’d like you all to know that standing behind each of you is a man with a Taser and instructions to use it on the first person whose answer relies on the Growth Fairy — lookin’ at you, Jeb — or the Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Fairy. Go.”

You don’t have to have much political knowledge to understand why few ask this question and no candidate wants to give a clear answer to the question. Many Americans aren’t willing to acknowledge we have a problem and even more would react negatively to an honest attempt to solve this growing crisis.

To be fair, a few candidates have talked about a policy of means-testing Social Security. That is not enough to balance the books but at least it is a serious proposal. But that may be all you hear this election season because we the voters have made it clear we will punish anyone who really tries to address this major economic challenge.